BRAINBURN
Trouble Sleeping?
|
Irritable?
|
Feeling Detached?
|
Trouble Sleeping? | Irritable? | Feeling Detached? |
Your Brain is probably on fire, and you should do something
about it.
Brainburn is a form of cognitive exhaustion and comes from overworking stress responses. Stressful events can manifest in symptoms like trouble sleeping, anger/irritability, difficult breathing, feeling numb or detached, or stuck in a loop of negative thoughts. (Mindshield 2022)
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It starts with understanding the two modes in which our brain operates.
PRIMITIVE BRAIN
and
EXECUTIVE BRAINOur Primitive Brain takes less time
to think and more time to act, and the result is SURVIVAL.Our Executive Brain is responsible for analyzing each of our experiences and the result is GROWTH.
Simply put, BRAINBURN is when your primitive brain is working more than your executive brain.
The remedy? Intentionally engage your executive brain.
**HINT** if you are reading this newsletter you are already engaging your executive brain.
An 'EXCEUTIVE' WORKOUT
Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor of kinesiology at California State, studied making the most out of your workout by being more mindful during your workout. (AKA Engaging your Executive Brain)
Dr. Galpin's research found many benefits of intentionally thinking about the muscles you are training while you exercise. For example, if you are doing a bicep curl, focus on not only moving the weight but think about contracting the bicep muscle itself as hard as you can.
The mind-body connection is so impactful during training that having an executive mindset while exercising can cause better outcomes than just applying the primitive mindset, even when performing the same exercise.
If your mindset during your lift is to just move the weight (AKA using your Primitive Brain), you will get some strength gains. If you lift the same weight but engage your executive brain, analyzing your movement and muscle contractions, you not only get strength gains, but you will become more powerful.
“Strength is how much weight you can move, and power is how fast you can move that weight. When you practice a mindful lift you will develop more overall power.” (Dr. Andy Galoin, 2022)
This approach doesn't only benefit weighted exercises, but it helps with plyometrics, speed, and endurance.
Engage the Executive brain and improve your power with mindful exercise... even when you're running the stadium stairs.
